i feel so put off from playing

[issh0mans]

idk what to really do. i can't terraform to save my life, and can't decorate as well as other people do. i try to save photos for inspiration but i still feel like garbo?? i've tried to use the happy island designer so many times but i just.......can't come up with anything.

i really don't know what to do and feel like asking someone to design me a map is asking too much
​

 

[Chris]

Don't force it.

Wait a while. It could take a few weeks or even a few months, but an idea will eventually come to mind. There is no rush to do it now.

 

[Fendi]

Honestly, this is why it's always a better idea to not take inspiration too literally because it can burn you out if you begin to compare other people's work to yours. In my case, I took my time designing, and I did seek out inspiration, but I never compared my work to others because everyone has different capacities when it comes to design. It's always better to think of designing piece by piece, because if you try to envision the entire design concept, it can be overwhelming to look at. Just do it one step at a time, and don't compare your work too much

 

[SmrtLilCookie]

Go with what feels natural, and remember nothing has to be permanent! Anything you do now can be changed or completely reversed if needed

I was in a very similar boat, but I found partitioning my island into distinct zones helped me a lot. For example, having a “shopping district” made it easier for me to visualize what should go there. I actually took a lot of inspiration from real places I’ve been, rather than trying to copy other islands.

 

[Shyria]

Agreed! With terraforming and being able to put almost anything outside the creativity some people display can be overwhelming!

Maybe take a break from social media regarding AC, it's perfectly acceptable to not terraform and keep decoration to a minimum, heavy terraforming is not a requirement to be able to enjoy the game!

Take it easy and see what comes (or not!) from there.

But if really you feel like you can't enjoy the game because of it, I'm sure many people here would be happy to help and send ideas your way!

 

[Silh]

Honestly I felt like that at first too. I always felt like "if i put THIS HERE, then itll have to be PERFECT and stay that way".

But i sort of learned that w/e u design/terraform/etc doesnt needa be perfect. I mean just DO and CREATE what u want. Then later u can expand on it and improve it later. Or maybe it grows on u and u like it the way it is.

EX: Want a farmers market but cant decide how to do it? JUST MAKE ONE. make all the items, play with placement, etc. Then keep it that way for a bit. And let it sink in. Try to see how u want to improve it later. But don't think u needa do it all at once. Or make it perfect the first time.

All Im saying is, don't expect every area of ur island to be finished ASAP or perfect the first time. (or even 2nd, 3rd 4th, etc). Cause I used to think that way and it drove me crazy. Now I just do my town how I want and when I get new inspiration, I just mix things up.

Trust me, its much more enjoyable just adding what u want rather than focusing on "ITS NOT DESIGNED GOOD ENOUGH".

 

[radiical]

If it helps at all, what I did with the happy island designer on most of my island was to just know what I absolutely wanted on my island and what ideas make me happy and excited and reserved a good bit of space for each idea I liked. Then over time I can fill those areas in and give it more detail. I guess I did what Fendi recommended. Please try not to stress too much about it

 

[Katy88]

First, I'm willing to bet your island is lovely, since you care about it. I'd say take your time and try to resist feeling pressure; this is a long-term game and you'll naturally come up with ideas for different parts of your island as you play.

For what it's worth, I got my island to a point where aesthetically I was really pleased with it; I'd designed three areas, which required a lot of terraforming, and it all looked great, and I got lots of compliments from visitors. But it felt kind of wrong, for it to be so perfect after just 6 weeks. I restarted, and now my island is a total mess but I'm enjoying the game much more!

 

[Xeleron]

I feel the exact same way! My island is nowhere near an IG worthy island, regardless, I'm really proud of the work I've done so far. It's super plain, simple and cramped, but that's ok. I like seeing my plain, simple and cramped work!

 

[stiney]

Honestly I felt like that at first too. I always felt like "if i put THIS HERE, then itll have to be PERFECT and stay that way".

But i sort of learned that w/e u design/terraform/etc doesnt needa be perfect. I mean just DO and CREATE what u want. Then later u can expand on it and improve it later. Or maybe it grows on u and u like it the way it is.

EX: Want a farmers market but cant decide how to do it? JUST MAKE ONE. make all the items, play with placement, etc. Then keep it that way for a bit. And let it sink in. Try to see how u want to improve it later. But don't think u needa do it all at once. Or make it perfect the first time.

All Im saying is, don't expect every area of ur island to be finished ASAP or perfect the first time. (or even 2nd, 3rd 4th, etc). Cause I used to think that way and it drove me crazy. Now I just do my town how I want and when I get new inspiration, I just mix things up.

Trust me, its much more enjoyable just adding what u want rather than focusing on "ITS NOT DESIGNED GOOD ENOUGH".

I think this is good advice.

Something lower key that I like to do is go to an items database (I like VillagerDB but others prefer other sites) and look at all the items. Sometimes I go with a theme in mind--I have a market area in front of my shops, so I have a list on VillagerDB where I added all the items that I thought could possibly go in a street fair/market. I was very generous on the brainstorming, so there's a lot of stuff that I'm now pretty "meh" on adding to the market (which I started and then abandoned for a while because I had so few of the items I wanted to add lol). Sometimes I might go in with no theme, and just look through and start to think about the items I've seen and how they might play well together and see if inspiration hits for how to put them together in a fun way. Or I might start with a specific item I really like and look through the options to see if I can think of other items that would look nice with it and what kind of space would be best for it (indoors or outdoors, a kitchen or a cafe or a shop etc). The daydreaming can help me be inspired without reference to what other people are doing.

I also definitely tweak things a lot after I've "finished" them. My spoopy graveyard was just a stone tablet, customized to be mossy at first, surrounded by a box of weeds and then the iron and stone fence for a 5x5 total space. Now it's also got a Western stone, a Zen style stone, an Australopith skull, and a stone lion (all mossy except the skull) and I've changed it at least three times since I first set it up. (Still very weedy, because I want it to look like it's been there forever and I don't want fossils to spawn in there and have to open the fencing to get to them).

 

[GirlPolarBear]

just play how you like! don't look online at other people's perfect towns, i've stopped browsing and it's giving me a lot of motivation to continue with my own town and just do whatever i think looks pretty.. like, i have a super ugly play area but idc! i made it with my bare hands > it's probably really ugly to some other people's but it doesn't have to be perfect - stop comparing and start enjoying!!

 

[Xcourt560x]

what helped me was taking my island into small sections. It was too overwhelming for me to think of a whole theme and completely plan out my whole island at one time. I just find small parts and think of what I want them to be (farm,library,restaurant ect) and then work in that small spot. And when I get burned out i stop. I really only decorate when I really feel inspired. So I guess my point is if your feeling overwhelmed just take it in small sections and only when u feel like it. hope this helps

 

[Imbri]

Don't try to do your entire island all at once. That gets overwhelming. Instead, focus on smaller areas. Want an orchard? Play around with tree placement - close together, spread a bit, buckets or boxes tucked among the trees?

Use shrubs and flowers (either color or breed) to designate a new area.

Let things sit for a few days. See how moving around works. Your daily runaround will dictate a lot of how landscape should be.

Don't feel like you have to do a lot. Sometimes minimal terraforming is better than razing an entire cliff.

 

[squidney]

yea start with small sections! get creative! I made a second character cus im turning her house into a clothing shop so I can sell items to people who are having a hard time with it. If you enjoy trading then utilize that more! And make sure your map doesnt have a theme right away! My town theme is just ME and what I LIKE. It has elements from all kinda of themes. I also thought, what is something cool no one else has? So I made a bio center where I can study bugs and fish etc! Designing is fun when youre in the mood too! Don't design everyday. This game is super fun so dont let stress ruin it for you ;-;!

 

[*The Oakboro Mayor*]

I think building up a vibe and theme takes time. I personally draw inspiration from images but I alter them in a way that I want. I would say to take it slow! You can get a lot of DIYs to start and see what you can use later. If you don’t like something that you created, I would recommend saving before you start a project and then exit out if you don’t like it, that way you can start fresh without tearing it all down.

 

[Jam86]

honestly i did so much terraforming on my island and was pretty proud of what i made, my sister had a better island than me but she's always been better than me at games so i didn't think much of it

but then my mum started watching loads of 5 star island tours on youtube for ideas and i just suddenly started to hate my island because it was like everyone was better at terraforming than me
so i tried to recreate loads of areas i saw online and i just completely ruined my island and ended up resetting my game

now i just stay off youtube and pinterest so i can try make my island how i want it without feeling like i need to make what others make and so far my island is looking quite nice imo but still far from done ☆

so like my sister said, there's no rush to complete your island, it doesn't have to look amazing straight away
just enjoy the game, you'll get ideas as you go and before you know it your island will look incredible ♡

 

[Manah]

Small sections are much easier to work with than a whole island.

And if you want to practice, it helps to start with something you can't change. The first (and so far only xD) section I built was the coast between the airport and the south river mouth. That was a hard limit in three directions and it made it much easier for me to figure out how to fit everything I wanted in there.

And you can also use paths to sketch out distances between things. Made it a lot easier to understand how much space I needed for my town section

 

[sleepydreepy]

Don't force it and don't compare yourself to others! Have patience with your town, and I'm sure something will come to you. Just because your island may not look like everyone else's doesn't mean its not "good" and I'm sure you worked just as hard as those "5-star island tour" people do. Everyone is different, and you should only be concerned about your island and whether you like it or not, and not how popular it is on social media. (Just like in real life! I use to be obsessed with being "the best" in school and got really burnt out, and felt like a failure even though I have a lot of great personal accomplishments. I constantly compared myself to others and that really wore me down. Now I am focusing on myself, and being proud of what I can do, even if others are doing it "better." You are your own person and set your own standards so be kind to yourself <3)

 

[RedPanda]

Your island is gonna change over time as you realize how you like using it and what it really needs. Just play the game and enjoy it and try not to let that stuff worry you. Your ideas will come to you as you play. It's your island to design for your own enjoyment and it doesn't have to impress anyone but you.

 

[XenoDonut]

Dunno if this helps as well, but if you do start to terraform/ decorate you want to have a lot of money, so maybe save up or make money until that day comes? I recently terraformed my island again and omg does it cost a lot to remove all your inclines and bridges and then pay for them again! I’m literally down to 0 bells in my account (and now I have to wait until I have enough bells again to start all over).

I think in terms of decorating etc. everyone else has really good recommendations